Health, Money, and Love: And Why We Don't Enjoy Them

In this deliciously twisting, engaging, multi- genre narrative, Robert Farrar Capon explores three areas of life that concern us all -- health, money, and love -- pokes fun of the religions we make of them, and trumpets the radical gospel of grace, the only alternative that can free us to be truly happy.

Using a variety of styles -- movie script, dialogue, parable, letter, and, of course, his typically sparkling prose -- Capon discusses religion and happiness in the light of "holy luck," the notion that God uses chance as his normal device for running the world and establishing his relationship with us. He argues that in espousing false religions such as health, money, and love in our pursuit of happiness, we reject God's holy luck for the illusion of our own control. "Happiness," he asserts, "lies in our ability to accept everything that happens and then either enjoy it gratefully or reconcile it patiently. We may not be able to control all of the things that happen outside us, but since we are in control of both our gratitude and our patience, there is always and in every circumstance a path open to the happiness that God already has over everything."

Capon proceeds to explore and interweave the topics of childhood, romance, work, play, exercise and eating habits, aging, and death within his twin themes of religion and happiness. Blending his own experiences with ideas from a wide range of authorities, including Augustine, Dame Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Chesterton, and Charles Williams, he challenges us to rethink our conception of God, our values, and our entire lives.

Full of provocative insights, Health, Money, and Love will surely attract, stir, and delight a wide readership.